FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT EUROPEAN UNION - PAGE 4

BRUSSELS: After reaching an agreement last week to cap bankers' bonuses, the European Union plans to rein in the salaries of managers and board members of all stock exchange listed companies across the EU block. The European Commission will present by the end of this year a comprehensive package of measures not only to curb the salaries, bonuses and severance pay, but also to introduce more transparency about the remunerations of top executives, EU commissioner in charge of the internal market Michel Barnier said today.

NEW DELHI: In order to woo Indian students for higher education opportunities in Europe, the EU would be organising a education fair in three cities in the country. The European Higher Education Fair, which will be inaugurated by Union Human Resources Department Minister Smriti Irani on November 30 in the National Capital, will see over 100 institutes participating from some 23 countries from the continent. Of these, France, Germany and United Kingdom alone has some 17 institutes exhibiting in the fair while Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Malta and Lithuania will have more than four institutes participating.

NEW DELHI: India has asked EU to amend its definition of small and medium enterprises to accommodate the country's labour intensive small units , so that they qualify for fee concessions under the region's environment legislation, popularly known as REACH. It has also asked the EU to allow Indian exporters of chemicals and other products, who have to comply with REACH regulations, to go in for direct registration of their products with the authorities instead of appointing EU-based 'only representative' to save on costs.

MUMBAI: The Free Trade Agreement between India and the European Union is expected to materialise next year once the country finalises its new foreign trade policy, a top official has said. "We are actually not very far from the agreement but we are not there yet. I am quite positive that next year or so it would be possible to finalise the free trade agreement," EU Ambassador Joao Cravinho told. He said parties on both the sides are engaged in good political conversations and there has been a commitment from both the sides on finalising the FTA. However, this is yet to be translated into actual progress in negotiations, Cravinho said on the sidelines of the 22nd annual general meeting of the Council of EU Chambers of Commerce here over the weekend.

SILCHAR : Indian Institute of Technology , Guwahati and Assam University, Silchar are two institutions from the north east to be included in European Union's Networking and Mobility Actions for Sustainable Technology and Environment ( NAMASTE ) scheme. European Union and India will work unitedly to expand the scope of IT and environment high education under the three million Euro scheme for the next four years. Twenty higher education institutions have been selected for the purpose.

NEW DELHI: Despite numerous challenges, European companies are keen to invest in India and are looking forward to a fresh round of growth once the new government is formed in the country this month, says a study. Besides, the European Union is also confident of early conclusion of the bilateral trade pact that has been in the works for a while. "Tactical greenfield investments, landmark acquisitions and steadfast dedication through uncertain economic cycles have been the key ingredients of the success enjoyed by European companies in India," Secretary General of Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC)

NEW DELHI: Concerned over high pollution level in the capital, European Union has directed its diplomats here to soon install air purifiers in their offices and residences. Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to India Joao Cravinho said the decision has been taken keeping in mind the well-being of the EU staff here. "We don't need to monitor the pollution level, the US is doing that... We don't need that... But we need to respond for the safety of our staff, the EU delegation living in the city here," Cravinho told PTI on the sidelines of the 7th EU-India Environment Forum here.

LONDON: The European Union is set to drop financial reforms that would force big banks to ringfence their retail departments from riskier investment operations , the newspaper reported on Monday. A draft European Commission paper, seen by the business paper, would no longer make banks automatically split operations and would give national supervisors more leeway in applying the reforms. But the draft proposal, drawn up by EU Commissioner Michel Barnier, does add a "narrowly defined" ban on 30 big banks using their own money for trading, so-called proprietary trading.

CHENNAI: MDMK General Secretary Vaiko today called on European Union Ambassador Joao Cravinho and other representatives of the EU member countries and sought their support for the "need for a referendum" among Tamils in Sri Lanka. Vaiko called on Cravinho who is heading a delegation of ambassadors representing various EU member countries currently on a three-day visit to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He discussed a host of issues including the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka and the "need for a referendum" among them in the island nation.

BRUSSELS: David Cameron set out a last-ditch case against the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker for European Commission president on Friday, trying to enforce a point of principle that raises the risk of Britain leaving the European Union. The British prime minister sees the former Luxembourg premier as lacking the will and the skills to reform the EU and told fellow leaders bluntly they were about to make a mistake in backing him - warning of unspecified "consequences". But he was set to be outvoted 26-2 if, as expected, he insists on an unprecedented vote among EU leaders.